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Post by mannabsn on Jan 27, 2011 21:28:07 GMT -5
Ok, so I don't have a date set... YET! Or a monetary amount set... YET! I find that I want to set my fund way high (my original goal was $5,000) and then I get discouraged when I seem to be moving so slowly. I'm hoping this board and blog keeps me motivated and reminds me that pennies add up to dollars add up to hundreds add up to Disney! I am SO inspired by this blog and all yall's threads, so figured I'd add my own. I ALMOST booked us a Disney trip back in December when the free dining promo was out and talked myself out of it saying "we won't be able to pay it off" and now I'm kicking myself in the butt for not at least putting the deposit down! Ugh! So - a little bit about us. We're a family of 4: I'm a nurse, Hubby is an EMT and we have 2 sons: ages 12 and 9. We live in rural Mississippi. Hubby loves Disney too but won't really admit it  - I finally talked him into taking the kids back before DS#2 becomes a Disney "adult"  I went to Disney twice as a kid and then we took our first ever family vacation to WDW back in 2006 when I graduated nursing school. Been dying to get back ever since  We really have no definite plan of WHEN to go - hoping for another great promotion to come out and then we'll alter our travel plans. I'm one of those moms who doesn't stress/mind pulling my kids out of school to go on vacation. Ok, thanks for listening/reading if you made it this far. On to my savings so far in the next post... |
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Post by mannabsn on Jan 27, 2011 21:30:02 GMT -5
$97.53 leftover money I had budgeted for Christmas spending that didn't get spent - start of the Disney fund
$75.00 - check I got in the mail for a online focus group I participated in
$150.00 - money I got as gifts for Christmas that I didn't spend (although I REALLY wanted a Keurig - I want a Disney trip more)
Total so far: $317.53
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Post by tanya on Jan 28, 2011 9:39:18 GMT -5
AWESOME first deposit!!!!! Keep it up!!! P.S. I love my Keurig. It was the best gift my parents have ever given us. Well worth the money.
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Post by mannabsn on Jan 28, 2011 17:48:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply!
$100 deposit today. Extra money Grandma gave us to help pay for DS#2's party at the movie theater (already budgeted for so this "gift" was extra)
yay! New total: $417.53
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Post by mannabsn on Jan 28, 2011 19:08:56 GMT -5
Budget buster - son's birthday party at the movies + gift and goodie bags set me back over $200. Blah. Wish I could say he had a great time but he isn't feeling good so it was kind of a bust.
He wound up bringing home over $160 in cash/gift cards as gifts (whoa!) - is it wrong of me as a parent to be lusting after my child's gift money to pad my Disney fund?
Of course I would never do that! I'm just feeling a little jealous of that moolah LOL.
Looks like we may be planning a fall trip if the fund grows fast enough - Hubby and I were looking at Disney food porn on a board today and decided we like the idea of the F&W festival. Yum.
Also curious how you guys "count" your extras. I have enough money in my MyPoints account to cash out for a $25 gift card now... but I'm not counting that in my total yet because the cash/card isn't in my hand and/or in my account. I also have $7 in my paypal I haven't counted yet because it's not yet in my designated "Disney" account. Hmmm...
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Post by tanya on Jan 28, 2011 23:33:53 GMT -5
I have points setting out there with MyPoints and Paypal. I don't personally count the money until I have cashed them out and the money is in the Disney Fund! MyPoints is now offering Paypal so I will probably wait until I have enough points to do so. If I do cash out for a gift card then I take that amount and put it in the fund.
Hope that helps.
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Post by mollybug2 on Jan 30, 2011 15:34:25 GMT -5
PayPal IS my Disney fund, along with an envelope of change and cash. I don't count my money from sites until I have cashed out and received it, and I am a paranoid-so-cash-out-often sort of girl! I have not counted Amazon certificates, but need to figure out if I am going to when I spend them. I have $100+ sitting in there.
How'd you get hooked up with a focus group? I think that sounds so interesting!!
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Post by tanya on Jan 31, 2011 8:48:24 GMT -5
I also cash out as soon as I can on my survey sites. Its just easier for me to keep my totals in our fund correct. I am with Mollybug. How did you get in with the focus groups?
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Post by mannabsn on Jan 31, 2011 20:15:06 GMT -5
The bestplace I've found for finding well paying surveys and/or online focus groups is the Surveys forum under "Freebies" section on slickdeals.net forums... Hope it's ok to post a link to another site here.
Thanks for the responses, yall!
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Post by mannabsn on Feb 3, 2011 18:53:37 GMT -5
Whoa - did our taxes today and we are getting a substantial refund. That'll do some nice padding of the Disney fund....
I know I should adjust my witholding but between my husband and I we have four jobs and a relatively upper-middle-class income so I was terrified we'd wind up paying in this year. It's a huge relief to know that not only do we not have to pay in, we're getting a good-sized chunk back! Yay!
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Post by mannabsn on Feb 3, 2011 18:54:30 GMT -5
Other things I have made money off so far (totals to be updated later)
Surveyhead
Sponsored Tweets
E-bates
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Post by tanya on Feb 4, 2011 9:31:47 GMT -5
Yay!!!!
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Post by mollybug2 on Feb 4, 2011 10:18:27 GMT -5
Hooray for a big tax refund! Ours goes to pay our property tax for the current year, so no fun for us...
Have you gotten any Surveyhead surveys lately? For a while now whenever I log in, there is nothing for me to take. I have cashed out almost $100 with them, maybe I am just out of luck with making any more?!
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Post by mannabsn on Feb 9, 2011 21:05:36 GMT -5
I get so frustrated with surveys in general - long pre-qualifiers and then no rewards! I find most survey sites to be kind of hit-or-miss.
Sold some books on Amazon - $15.67 deposit!
New total = $433.20
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Post by mannabsn on Feb 15, 2011 7:58:08 GMT -5
Well, I got a free dining PIN! I'm excited, but... it's only for July and August. Love the discount, but just not sure I want to travel at the busiest times of the year (and hottest)! Any advice?
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- I finally talked him into taking the kids back before DS#2 becomes a Disney "adult" 
